I came across a video where the Vice Chairman of Morgan Stanley, Carla Harris was interviewed….

She said something that struck my nerves deeply. In her words:

I realized that being smart and working hard was not enough. It still wasn’t getting me at the top of the class.

…and later went on to say:

I realized that there was somebody who had to be behind closed doors arguing passionately on my behalf. But at the end of the day while performance currency gets your name on the list that’s being discussed behind closed doors, when your name is called, if no one else in that room can speak on your behalf, they just go to the next name and it has nothing to do with your ability to do the job.